2of3TUCSON, AZ - SEPTEMBER 01: Quarterback Khalil Tate #14 of the Arizona Wildcats sits on the bench during the second half of the college football game against the Brigham Young Cougars at Arizona Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Tucson, Arizona. The Cougars defeated the Wildcats 28-23. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)Photo: Christian Petersen, Staff / Getty Images

3of3Houston Cougars defensive tackle Ed Oliver (10) sits on the sideline with rubber from the turf stuck to his face during the Rice University game on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 in Houston. Houston Cougars won the game 45-27.Photo: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer

Ed Oliver and Khalil Tate were featured on regional covers of Sports Illustrated this summer.

“Big Boss” was the headline for Oliver, the University of Houston’s All-America defensive tackle.

“Big and Bad” was splashed across the magazine for Tate, Arizona’s dual-threat quarterback.

Both have been mentioned as Heisman Trophy candidates. Both are included among the top 10 on various lists of the best players in college football.

Oliver has announced he will turn pro after this season and is projected as the possible No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL draft. If Tate leaves early, another strong season could catapult him into the first-round discussion.

“It’s entertaining,” UH coach Major Applewhite said of the star power that will be on display Saturday at TDECU Stadium. “It is something that will make people want to tune in.”

Oliver and Tate are the main attractions for the Week 2 showdown, drawing a dozen NFL scouts that one longtime UH athletics staffer said was the “most I can ever recall this early in the season.”

But good luck getting much insight from the primary participants. Arizona does not make Tate, a junior, available to the local media during the week.

It was a far different tone from Oliver this week than his cover story in SI.

Asked about the decision to announce in March he would enter the NFL draft, Oliver said he did not want to get asked about his future after games but instead “because I gave Khalil Tate a nightmare.”

The Cougars got a glimpse of Tate last September in Tucson when he replaced starter Brandon Dawkins early in the fourth quarter. Tate was 5-of-8 for 41 yards and ran four times for 24 yards. Arizona was at the UH 32-yard line when Garrett Davis intercepted Tate with less than four minutes left to preserve the 19-16 victory.

“That was a totally different team for the 3-3½ quarters that he was not playing,” Applewhite said. “You could see the makings of what was going to happen the rest of the season.”

Tate went on to pile up 1,411 rushing yards, including an FBS-record 327 yards against Colorado that was his coming-out party.

A year later, after seeing Tate take the Pac-12 by storm, Applewhite’s opinion has not changed.

“He’s an elite player,” Applewhite said.

Oliver and the Cougars come off a decidedly different season opener than Tate and the Wildcats. Against Rice, the 6-3, 292-pound Oliver kicked off his Heisman campaign with 13 tackles, including 3½ for loss, and two quarterback pressures in a 45-27 win over Rice.

It was the type of performance Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin remembers when he tried to recruit Oliver to Texas A&M.

“Ed Oliver is a very, very special athlete and one of the best players in the country,” said Sumlin, who will coach his first game on the UH campus since bolting for A&M in 2011. “You can’t ignore his talents. He’s done it against everybody. He’s powerful, big, quick and has a great demeanor. He’s a handful.”

Meanwhile, Arizona struggled in a 28-23 loss to BYU. What left Arizona backers confused: Tate, one of the game’s most dynamic runners, had only eight rushing attempts (for 14 yards) compared to 34 passing attempts. It was a stunning change from when Tate excelled in former coach Rich Rodriguez’s zone-read offense last season to become more of a pocket passer under Sumlin and new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone.

Sumlin admitted this week the coaching staff needs to “be more creative” in using Tate’s running ability.

“It’s something that we have taken a really hard look at this week, and it can only help us to get his legs more involved in the offense,” Sumlin said.

For his part, Oliver said the Cougars are prepared. Could Oliver be in line for another big game with the Wildcats’ offensive line featuring four first-time starters?

“I’ve watched the tape. I’ve studied it,” he said. “I think he is going to run a lot more.”

The matchup with Tate will be the latest in a string of showdowns with marquee quarterbacks. The first two meetings went in Oliver’s favor — he had two sacks against Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield as a freshman in 2016 and posted two sacks, three tackles for loss and a forced fumble against Lamar Jackson and Louisville later that season.

“I think (Oliver) just plays to a standard,” Applewhite said. “I think all the guys on our team play to standard regardless of who we are playing.”

Joseph Duarte has been a sports reporter for the Houston Chronicle since August 1996. He currently covers college athletics, focusing on the University of Houston. Previously, he wrote about the Houston Astros from 1998-2002, Houston Texans from 2002-05 and the Texas Longhorns from 2005-09. He came to the Houston Chronicle as part of an internship through the Sports Journalism Institute in 1995.